Researchers at the University of Warwick have developed antenna modules that enhance the sensitivity and selectivity of optical wireless receivers.Ī source, a detector and a way to align the two are fundamental to any optical communications system, noted Roger J.

However, growing data demands may finally make optical communications an attractive contender. To date, despite its advantages and having been around for years, optical wireless has been overshadowed by radio frequency (RF) technology, which has dropped in price while increasing throughput. He heads OPTICWISE, a European Science Foundation-funded group of more than 80 researchers from 20 European countries that investigates all areas of optical wireless “The time has come to seriously consider other viable options for wireless communication, using the upper parts of the electromagnetic spectrum for applications where access to huge bandwidth is a requirement,” said Murat Uysal, an associate professor of electrical and electronics engineering at Ozyegin University in Istanbul. Mounted atop buildings and other structures, a free-space optical system with four lasers and a radio backup connects points together. Thanks to tightly confined beams, there can be unlimited reuse of unregulated spectrum and inherent security. The technology has low power requirements and offers high capacity and resistance to electromagnetic interference. The connection can function indoors and out, between chips, around the Earth or across the solar system. In response, researchers and companies are looking into using infrared, visible and ultraviolet light to provide point-to-point communication through air, space and water. Growing data demands are bumping up against radio frequency capacity.

In wireless communications, things are getting crowded. Light-based options promise to pick up where radio-frequency technology leaves off.

Freespace optical